April 5, 2014
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide, triggered by the assassination of the Rwandan President in April 1994, and continued for 100 days with an estimated death toll of more than half a million. Since then Rwanda has seen a remarkable transformation, and the capital Kigali is now a prosperous and thriving capital. Music has played its part in that transformation, and we hear first from Sophie Nzayisenga, who sings and plays the traditional stringed instrument, the inanga. She lost brothers and sisters in the conflict, surviving by hiding in the bush with her father for the hundred days. She's now involved in Rwanda's Cultural Upgrading Initiative, which seeks to promote harmony through traditional music. There is also a session with Gakondo, a traditional group which plays regular concerts at the Hotel Milles Collines, well known around the world as the former UN hotel which became a refuge during the genocide.
